Twitter Unfollows Edelman
Posted on: December 22, 2011
Interesting industry news, but c’mon, PR is not just about getting publicity…
Twitter, need to brainstorm ideas on your public affairs/policy/international market fronts? Call me.
The Power of Taxi Drivers – TEDx
Posted on: June 24, 2011
In NYC, taxi drivers play a huge role in our daily routine/lives. I imagine this to be true in other crowded cities as well…so I loved this idea. Check out the video below! What if taxi drivers got a little bit of insight into classical music AND were encouraged to play the music in their taxis on a National Classical Music in Taxis Day?!
Cool Barcodes
Posted on: June 23, 2011
Ever wonder about those barcodes that are on everything from your milk carton to your pants? Me either, until this cool article in the WSJ today. Companies like Nestle and Duane Reade are trying them on their products. Check these out!!!
Question is…would this affect sales and would customers notice? I’ll admit that I would be tempted to buy something more if it had a cat-shaped barcode…
Best Latte Ever…
Posted on: June 15, 2011
In the past two weeks, I’ve sampled copious anounts of coffee in Los Angeles, Dallas, Raleigh, Phoenix, Charlotte and San Antonio. I’ve never loved or missed Fika more.
First order of business on Friday morning: My beloved Fika 1% latte!
Royal Wedding: Music
Posted on: April 16, 2011
I’ll admit it. I’m *slightly* obsessed with Prince William and Kate and diligently check People’s Royal Wedding website every day to stay on top of the latest news.
Everything royal wedding from the proposal, ring, bachelor/bachelorette parties and dress has been in the international spotlight and I’ve been eagerly waiting to hear about the music. It is common knowledge that Prince Charles is a big fan and supporter of classical music and I had read about Kate and Will having gone with him to select the music for their wedding.
Finally – the news is out! Christopher Warren-Green is the musical director of both the London Chamber Orchestra (LCO) and the Charlotte (N.C.) Symphony and met Prince Charles during his time in London. He’s been asked by Charles to be in charge of music for the wedding, conducting the LCO in a special program during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Warren-Green also played at Prince Charles’s 60th birthday and at his wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles and at Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday in Kew Palace. Can we say…LUCKY???
I can’t wait to find out what music has been chosen and if the selections end up setting off any wedding music trends that brides choose for their own weddings this year!
Check out more here: http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20395222_20481874,00.html
I’ve done it. I’ve left easy, breezy, beautiful California and have just completed my first week as a New Yorker. I still have a lot to learn about this new city, but I’ve already whole-heartedly embraced one thing from NYC culture: DELIVERY!
Its amazing – you can get anything delivered for a nominal fee: any kind of food, liquor, medicines and groceries. I’ve added a favorite page to my browser: seamlessweb.com. It’s an online food ordering site where you can input your zip code and pull up a complete list of all the restaurants that are currently open and willing to deliver your food to you…and their menus! No cash? No problem, just pay using credit card and the restaurant will somehow get the money and you will somehow get your food. It’s bliss.
I’ve noticed that most places, certainly most restaurants, have registered to get their listing on delivery sites like SeamlessWeb and others. It’s a competitive city and you’ve got to provide what everyone else is providing to even start to compete on a level playing field.
Wondering if all this is similarly applicable to classical music. The world of consumer goods is evolving every day to better serve and deliver products and services to those who want them. Efficiency, easy mainstream delivery and multiple access points are increasingly becoming more important to consumer products. How can classical music adopt the same strategies with success without giving up the purity of the artform?
Many have tried, some more successfully than others. I guess that’s what this blog will continue to try to document – although I suspect a few more personal NYC experiences are going to be sneaking in here as well…there are so many things to do and to see!
Until next time—my sushi delivery guy is here 🙂
Sleeping at the Concert Hall
Posted on: July 29, 2010
After the blockbuster movie “A Night at the Museum” enthralled audiences everywhere, museums, aquariums and zoos got smart and started to offer the chance to spend the night at their amazing venues.
So fun! Who wouldn’t want to spend the night under a glass arch of glowing, swimming fish or wake up with to screeches of peacocks in the morning? These sleepovers sound like amazing experiences:
American Museum of Natural History – http://www.amnh.org/kids/sleepovers/
Bronx Zoo – https://tickets.wcs.org/mainstore.asp?vid=5#cat1053
Aquarium of the Pacific – http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/education/schoolprogramsinfo/C216/ 
NYSCI – http://www.nysci.org/visit/groups/sleepovers
They’ve been enormously popular with families, children and teachers – as well as with the media. While a new exhibit can often bring some new media attention, an overnight experience offers opportunities to use existing resources to create new curriculum, extraordinary experiences and the feeling of exclusivity and behind-the-scene peeks into an institution.
I would love to see a concert hall offer an overnight musical sleepover. It’s a chance to help dissipate any stuffy, inaccessible feelings that are sometimes associated with an opera or concert hall. Kids could play musical games on stage, tour the backstage area, sleep in the aisles and run up and down the grand staircases that are always found in concert venues. Hopefully, harboring fond memories of familiarity can only help increase future attendance and help maintain interest in the programming and going-ons at a performing arts center.
Dating…Presto!
Posted on: July 1, 2010
Speed dating, singles mingle, blind dates…
There are single people everywhere looking to meet their match using bars, clubs, mutual friends and dating sites. Why not pair up in the lobby of the local concert venue or backstage at a recital hall?
The Met Opera offers Connect at the Met, which features special events where guests in different age groups have the chance to attend the opera and mingle with other singles during a pre-performance reception as well as a champagne dessert reception at intermission. What happens after the opera…is up to you 🙂
What could be better? Music, champagne and a chance to explore a culturally fulfilling evening with someone new! From the organizer’s point of view…ticket sales, another reason to outreach to a (perhaps) younger audience and an opportunity to cultivate an appreciate for classical music in (if all goes well) a young couple.
With an opera, it might even be fun to designate one small section of the hall on a certain evening for seat-swapping and have singles meet and sit with someone different for each act!
Puccini? Bizet? Rachmaninoff? A little Kreisler perhaps? Love is in the air…
GROUPON
Posted on: July 1, 2010
What is Groupon? It’s a whole group getting a coupon! Basically, each day, Groupon will feature a great deal or bargain on something cool to eat, see or do in your city. Once a minimum number of people sign up for the deal, it activates and everyone receives the discount! Groupon calls it “collective buying power!”
I’ve seen some amazing deals on things that I love in Los Angeles: Umami Burger, Sprinkles Cupcakes and massages and facials at upscale spas. Besides being a great way to generate sales, Groupon is a great publicity tool. Even if I choose not to participate in the deal of the day, I’m usually intrigued by the restaurant, class or venue and learn more about it by clicking through to see what they’re about.
Because Groupon is localized, it’s a perfect opportunity for orchestras, opera companies and other arts venues to outreach to their immediate audience and perhaps a new group of folks looking for a deal on something fun to do in their city. I can’t wait for the day I see a Groupon deal for the LA Phil or LA Opera!
Play Me, I’m Yours
Posted on: June 21, 2010
I’m slightly jealous of New Yorkers who can participate in a fun, public musical activity starting tomorrow! On Monday, June 21, 60 working pianos will be placed around New York City as part of an art installation. Located in public parks, streets and plazas, the pianos are available for anybody who walks by.
Presented by Sing for Hope, a non-profit that mobilizes professional artists in volunteer service programs, these pianos will be on display until July 5th as part of a public art project called “Play Me, I’m Yours.” The pianos will act as both visual and musical art, “with attention-getting cases and living-color keys — green or blue, or all black instead of the usual allotment of 52 white and 36 black.”
Even Sophie Matisse, granddaughter of the painter, gets involved in painting a piano for Play Me I'm Yours
This project reminds me of “the Gates,” the orange gates and matching draperies that stretched across Central Park in 2005, or the fiberglass cows, fish, pigs, etc. that have taken up residencies in various cities in the past few years. It’s a wonderful idea, bringing access to a musical instrument into a community and breaking down the barriers of entry.
Camille Zamora, a co-founder of Sing for Hope, said, “We want communities where the pianos go to feel the pianos are theirs, that you don’t have to take 20 years of lessons,” Ms. Zamora said. “People are frightened to touch pianos. They don’t want to embarrass themselves.” (via NYT)
As NPR reported, this project has “already been done in London, Sao Paolo, and Sydney, where one couple met at the piano and later got married.”
Now that’s the power of music bringing people together 🙂
Where the pianos are...click for more details!
Perfectly Pitched 